The two of them jerked apart, and Joanna blushed profusely as she scrambled off the bed.
His brother’s eyes widened as he stared at the two of them in shock. “Forgive me, Miss Thorne. I… I didn’t realize you were in here.”
“It’s all right,” she said quickly, crossing her arms in front of herself. “I should be going. My parents will be wondering where I am.” She turned to look at Evan with a smile. “I look forward to our next date. I hope it will be soon.” She disappeared out of the room before he could say anything.
Peter turned to his brother, his face hardening into a glare. “What the bloody hell do you think you are doing?”
“What amIdoing? How many times have I told you to knock before you enter a room?” Evan felt his fury rise at the thought of Peter seeing Joanna in a compromising position.
“Oh, so now I am the improper one? You should be ashamed of yourself, Evan.”
Evan was a little taken aback by his brother’s uncharacteristic anger. He got out of bed, hurrying to button up his pants. “I didn’t bed her, if that’s what you are worried about.”
“Really? As if you could have fooled me. After all, the two of you were in bed together when I opened the door.”
“I told you, you should have knocked,” growled Evan. “I knew your disregard for knocking would get you in trouble one of these days.”
“And you should know better than to bed young ladies that you have no intention of marrying,” Peter hissed. “I knew you could be selfish, but I never thought you were capable of ruining Miss Thorne’s life.”
“And I am telling you I have not!” he yelled. “I have been careful. No one saw us together, and I have done nothing that would cause her to be with child. Besides, she knows the risks as well as I do, and she agreed. Unless you think so little of me that you believe I coerced her into my bedchambers.” He could not help but feel a little hurt by Peter’s condemnation.
His brother looked at him, unflinching. His expression was a mix of anger and a little bit of sadness. “I know you would never do that, my dear brother. You are not a monster. But when it comes to Miss Thorne, you tend to be reckless, and if you are not careful, she will be ruined, whether that’s your intention or not. Her position in society is tenuous enough as it is. If you ruined her, then she would have a difficult time finding work as a governess, let alone a respectable husband. Her sister would be even more at a disadvantage than she already is, all before her debut Season.”
“I would not let it come to that,” Evan said. “I would marry her first.”
Peter paused and raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You are considering marrying her?”
Evan looked away, running his fingers through his hair. “I know it might shock you to learn that I can accept responsibility formy own mistakes. Despite my own attitude toward marriage, I would wed her in a heartbeat to protect her from ruin.” He knew that was always true, even before his feelings for her had started to grow. “But perhaps… even without causing scandal, I…” He sighed. “Don’t tell Grandmother. Not yet.”
Peter let out an incredulous laugh. “How could I tell her when you can’t even vocalize the thought to me?” All the anger on his face a moment ago disappeared. “Are you seriously saying what I think you are saying?”
“If you think I am saying that I am considering offering my hand in marriage to Joanna, then yes.” He said the words quickly, before he could take the coward’s way out. He ran his fingers through his hair and started pacing in the room, feeling agitated. “I told her about our parents. About what happened that night.”
A muscle twitched in Peter’s jaw, most likely trying to push the unpleasant memory away. “What did she say?”
“She understood. She was so sweet about it, and she distracted me from the rain. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t have to hide in the library.” Feeling incredibly selfish, he continued. “But I don’t want to marry her just because she makes my troubles go away. She is also funny and interesting. I love how much she enjoys books, and it’s admirable how much she loves her family. I love talking to her, and I find myself never wanting our conversations to end.”
Peter laughed. “You don’t have to convince me,” he said. “It’s clear you are in love with her.”
Evan swallowed, unable to say the words himself but not wanting to deny them either.
“I think you should ask her,” Peter said. “Soon. She cares for you, too, you know. I think the two of you will make each other very happy.”
The duke hoped so. He wanted to make Joanna happy, just like she made him. “I will ask her. Tomorrow.”
CHAPTER 33
Curled up in bed, well past breakfast time, Joanna stared at the flimsy piece of newspaper in her shaking hands, even though she had read through the article several times over by now. She stared at it as if hoping, by some miracle, the words would rearrange themselves into something mundane. Something that wasn’t life-crushing.
The Viscount of Folly’s Scheming Daughter.
The Viscount of Clifford gets a lot of attention in our pages, thanks to his one-sided love of the card tables.
But it appears his daughter, Miss Thorne, is looking to seduce Lady Luck into looking upon her family more favorably—or at least upon herself more favorably.
Instead of seeking her fortune at the card tables, like her father, she seeks it among the unsuspecting men of theton. Specifically, one Duke of Blackwell. Against all odds, shemanaged to thaw out his cold heart, a feat that was once deemed impossible.
No one knows how she managed it. Perhaps she found a dark secret in his past to blackmail him with—we have certainly speculated on the many skeletons that haunt his closet. But this writer thinks it is more mundane than blackmail. Everyone with half a brain keeps their distance from the Duke of Ice. Perhaps all it took to thaw him out was for someone to approach him and flirt with him instead of reasonably shying away in fear.
